After what felt like a really productive first half of 2015 where I wrote a bunch of articles and a book chapter, I think needed a couple months of silence. There is a way that working on drought issues full time can really dry a person up -- literally and figuratively. Somewhat paradoxically, a long sojourn to the desert last month helped a lot.
I'm now happy to say that I'm slowly starting to write again, starting with a new blog post up at The Confluence, our new-ish California Institute for Water Resources blog. This post highlights research showing that small streams in northern California that run dry during some times of the year are more diverse than originally thought, but also that that diversity depends on the streams being reconnected by flowing water at key times. It was refreshingly fun to write something about the more joyful side of California water issues; I really needed that.
I've also had a new article written with my colleague Doug Parker come out this week at The Conversation (also running in Newsweek). It started with a question I really wanted to know the answer to, which is "when will this drought be over?" Before living through it, it just kind of seemed like a drought would be alleviated by more rain, but it turns out that it's not really an "in it" or "out of it" kind of thing.
Now I've got a ton of half-written blog posts and things that mostly feel too hard/provocative or not well-developed enough to say out loud. I'm trying to let that be okay.
Related posts:
I'm now happy to say that I'm slowly starting to write again, starting with a new blog post up at The Confluence, our new-ish California Institute for Water Resources blog. This post highlights research showing that small streams in northern California that run dry during some times of the year are more diverse than originally thought, but also that that diversity depends on the streams being reconnected by flowing water at key times. It was refreshingly fun to write something about the more joyful side of California water issues; I really needed that.
I've also had a new article written with my colleague Doug Parker come out this week at The Conversation (also running in Newsweek). It started with a question I really wanted to know the answer to, which is "when will this drought be over?" Before living through it, it just kind of seemed like a drought would be alleviated by more rain, but it turns out that it's not really an "in it" or "out of it" kind of thing.
Now I've got a ton of half-written blog posts and things that mostly feel too hard/provocative or not well-developed enough to say out loud. I'm trying to let that be okay.
Related posts:
Write the difficult and provocative posts, please. That's where we need you most.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment and support, much appreciated. I'm working on it. It's always a tightrope walk trying to say things I feel need to be said, and not ruining myself professionally (or personally, for that matter). Hard to be a person with radical views in a pretty non-radical world sometimes -- as I'm guessing you know.
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